At Accorde Orthodontists, we believe everyone deserves a healthy, beautiful smile they can be proud of in any situation. We provide high-quality, convenient orthodontic treatment for a variety of orthodontic treatments and malocclusions, and our doctors and a team of orthodontic specialists work hard to make every visit to our office a pleasant experience. We know you'll be excited when you get your braces off, but you're not quite out of the woods yet – now comes the retention phase of treatment.
The Importance of Your Retainer
While it may seem far off today, someday soon, you'll be getting your braces off – and we know you'll be excited. In fact, many patients are nearly bouncing off the walls!
After we take your braces off, you'll enter the retention phase of treatment. This phase is critical to ensuring the health and longevity of your smile.
To prevent this, we'll fit you with a set of custom retainers you'll wear to keep your teeth in position until the rest of your mouth adapts. We'll fit you for your retainers the day we take your braces off, and we'll give you detailed instructions for wearing and caring for your retainers.
Types of Retainers
Depending on your unique needs, we'll fit you for your own unique retainer:
Clear Retainer: Clear retainers are similar to Invisalign aligners, and they're made from a clear plastic material and made to fit directly onto the dental arch. Clear aligner-type retainers are virtually invisible when worn and easy to take in and out.
Fixed: Fixed or Bonded retainers use a thin metal wire that's bonded to the inside (tongue-side) of the teeth with special dental cement. This means fixed retainers aren't removable, as they're fixed in the mouth – but they're also invisible because they're on the inside of the teeth.
Caring For Your Retainer
Just like your teeth and your braces, you'll need to keep your retainer clean to keep it safe from germs and bacteria. Gently brush clear retainers to avoid scratching. You can also soak it in a cup with a denture cleaning tablet. You can brush and floss a fixed retainer just like you do your teeth, although you'll likely need to use a floss threader to get underneath the wire.
Contact Accorde Orthodontists Today!
With care and diligent use, your retainer will help to protect your new smile, ensuring you enjoy it for years to come. If you have any questions on retention, orthodontic care, or your orthodontic health in general, feel free to call us at 763-425-9888 or reach out to us at our contact page. Or, if you'd like to come in for an appointment, just request one online at our Maple Grove, Rogers, or Champlin, MN office. We can't wait to hear from you!